Fair use is a set of broad criteria identified in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976
that allows individuals to use limited portions of a work in the name
of criticism, teaching, scholarly research, and news reporting without
first having to obtain permission from the work’s copyright holder.
Consideration of all four of the factors below is required before
proceeding with use, though all factors do not have to be in favor of
use to make it a fair use.

What is the purpose of the use?

If the purpose of the use is non-profit and/or educational
in nature, the use is more likely to be protected under the doctrine of
fair use than if the intention is to use the material in a for-profit
manner. Be aware educational use alone may not be sufficient to constitute fair use.

There is also allowance made for a transformative use of
material. Fair use permits the transforming of an original work to give
it new expression or meaning. One common example of this is using
original content in a parody.

What is the nature of the copyrighted work?

The concept of fair use favors works considered factual in
nature (i.e. created for the purpose of criticism, commentary, teaching,
or scholarship) over works that are original fictional or artistic
expressions. Also, since copyright law grants an author the right to
first publication, greater accommodation is given when using published
versus unpublished works.

Copying material intended to be purchased (e.g. chapters
from a textbook or an instructional module) is not protected under the
idea of fair use.

What is the amount or substantiality of the item used?

While the law does not define a set amount or
percentage of a work that can be used and still be considered fair use, the smaller the amount of a work you use the more
protected you are.

Regarding substantiality, even using a very limited portion
of a work may not be allowed if that portion is what is referred to as
the ‘heart of a work.’ In a fictional work, this might be a key or
climactic plot scene; in a non-fictional work it may be a few pages that
summarize the argument of the entire text, for example.

What effect will the use have on the potential market for the work?

Copyright law grants an author the right to realize
financial gain from the creation and sale of his work. If usage of the
material negatively impacts the author’s ability to realize revenue it
will not be considered fair use.